3 Pieces of Advice on Buying Your Child’s First Piano

Buying a new piano can be a daunting task, especially if you are not a pianist or musician yourself - it can be difficult to determine which piano to buy or whether you should invest in purchasing a piano at all. Contributed by Hiyori Matsushima for the Roland Australia Blog During my years of working in music retail, selling both acoustic and digital pianos, some of the most asked questions asked by parents (wondering aimlessly in the shop) were: 1) My child’s piano teacher said “Buy a piano with full size, weighted keys”. What does this mean? 2) Should I buy…

System-8 Free Update – Brand New JX-3P & FM Synth Engine!

Over the past few months Roland have released two massive updates for the System-8 PLUG-OUT synthesizer! The updates introduced classic FM oscillators, a collection of new filters to use in the System-8 mode and a brand new PLUG-OUT version of a classic Roland synth, the JX-3P. Contributed by Zachary Odgers for the Roland Australia Blog…

Aerophone GO – A Student’s Perspective

Hello, I’m Caitlin and I’m a 15 year old saxophonist, pianist and clarinettist in Year 10 at Conservatorium High School in Sydney, Australia. I have played piano for 11 years, clarinet for 4 and saxophone for 6 months. Though I’m relatively new to the saxophone, I love playing and in two weeks will be sitting…

Gig Ready Synths – Which One is Right for You?

Synthesizers have become an essential piece of the modern performer’s toolkit. No matter what genre of music you create or perform, chances are that the right performance synth will help you really kick things up a notch. With the overwhelming number of synths available however, comparing them can be a daunting task. That’s why it’s…

Roland Announces Version 2.0 Update for the JUNO-DS Synthesizer Series

Lightweight, mobile, and filled with high-quality sounds and hands-on controls, Roland’s JUNO-DS61 and JUNO-DS88 synthesizers are ideal for both pro players and up-and-coming keyboardists. The just-announced Version 2.0 update brings many enhancements to the popular instrument series, including multisample support, expanded performance features, and the powerful JUNO-DS Tone Manager software for Mac and Windows. The…

Using Samples with Your TR-8 Rhythm Performer

For decades, artists and producers have been evolving the classic Roland TR-808 and TR-909 drum sounds. The Roland TR-8 Rhythm Performer gives you those timeless sounds, along with the capacity to manipulate, sequence and affect them in real time. Now, the new Roland SP-404A Linear Wave Sampler takes this versatility even further, with the ability…

Vince Watson is a hopeless synth hoarder. To walk into the DJ’s Amsterdam studio is to enter a treasure-trove of vintage, modern, cult and leftfield hardware, hunted down since adolescence, and deployed on club classics from Mystical Rhythm to Biologique. For this Scottish-born 41-year-old, every synth tells a story, reminding him of roots on Glasgow’s…

Ultimate Guide To The AIRA SYSTEM-8 Plugout Synthesizer

In 1973, Roland released the SH-1000 synthesizer and started a journey that continues to this day. During the 1970s, analog monosynths evolved into multi-oscillator modular synthesizers that eventually ushered in the Golden Age of polyphonic analog synthesizers. The 1980s saw the birth of the digital revolution, with Roland pushing the envelope of digital synthesizer design…

Which Headphones Are Right For Me?

Headphones are one of the greatest technological creations of the 20th century. If you don’t think that’s true, take a look in any bus, train, street or park, in any town or city you like. You’ll spot people enjoying podcasts on their way to work, music while they’re jogging, or working via a business call…

Sounds Of The Roland Boutique SH-01A Synthesizer

The new Roland Boutique SH-01A Synthesizer is a faithful recreation of the classic Roland SH-101 from 1982, a synthesizer that helped shape the sound of countless genres of music including Pop, House, Techno, and Electro. It is a monophonic powerhouse that has one of the most recognizable sounds out there. Its ease of use makes…